Officially official.
Tricon Garage will field the entry for recently retired NASCAR Cup Series star Martin Truex Jr. next month. The No. 56 marks the technical Cup Series debut for the organization but technical support will come from Joe Gibbs Racing.
The 2017 champion will team up with the crew chief that engineered most of his success as Cole Pearn will also come out of Canadian retirement to oversee the effort. They amassed 24 victories at the highest level and are seeking their first victory in The Great American Race.
Bass Pro Shops will serve as the primary sponsor as the Johnny Morris owned company has for a vast majority of this driver’s national touring tenure. The No. 56 is the one he used while a
“It’s going to be a really cool deal to be able to work with Cole and have the number 56 again,” said Truex Jr., who ended his full-time career at Phoenix in November. “I really appreciate everyone at Bass Pro Shops, TRICON and Toyota helping put this together to go have some fun, and I can’t think of a better time to go win the thing for Johnny Morris.”
Joe Gibbs Racing cannot technically field another entry as it is at the four-car cap mandated by NASCAR. The entry has been outsourced to the David Gilliland owned Truck Series operation that has been affiliated with Toyota since 2023.
“This opportunity is a testament to the dedication of our entire organization and our partners at Toyota. Having raced against Martin for many years, I can confidently say there’s no stronger competitor I’d want behind the wheel for our first Cup Series entry at the sport’s most prestigious race,” said Gilliland. “As an open entry, we know the road ahead will be challenging, but I have no doubt that Martin will put us in the best position to succeed. I’ve had the privilege of sitting on the pole at Daytona, but my next goal is to celebrate in victory lane.”
To his point, Truex joins a stacked open entry list that is likely to include Jimmie Johnson at Legacy, Justin Allgaier at JR Motorsports, Anthony Alfredo at Beard, BJ McLeod in his car and at least two more other cars. Helio Castroneves is driving the Project91 entry but will have a guaranteed spot by virtue of the new Open Entry Exception rule.
Matt Weaver is a Motorsports Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter.
